COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Fraser Malcolm scored 26 points, but the Black Hills State University men's basketball team fell to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 73-72, on Friday evening. A last second free throw sunk the Yellow Jackets.     

Malcolm led the Yellow Jackets (7-7, 6-4 RMAC), scoring 26 points for his fifth 20-point game of the year. The senior also moved to No. 3 for career rebounds in the BHSU record books. With his four rebounds on Friday, he now has 503 total rebounds as a member of the Green and Gold. Tyler Oliver added 18 points and pulled down eight boards, while Makaleb McInnis tallied 11 points. Connor O'Hearn recorded nine points and six assists.

The Yellow Jackets jumped out early to an eight point lead, 15-7, but the Mountain Lions (11-5, 8-2 RMAC) used a 13-5 run to tie up the game, 20-20, with 8:29 to play in the first. BHSU responded, and pushed the lead out to five again, but the home team would not go away easily, and drew within one, 35-34, at halftime.

The second half continued to be a back-and-forth affair, with the Green and Gold clinging to a narrow lead for the first 10 minutes. A three-pointer by DaRaun Clark with 9:44 to play gave the Mountain Lions a two-point advantage, 52-50.

With 1:08 left to play, the home team had a four-point lead. Oliver drained a three-pointer to get the Yellow Jackets within one, and after UCCS scored on its ensuing possession, Malcolm hit a trey of his own to tie up the game, 72-72, with 10 seconds remaining. With just over a second to play, the Mountain Lions were bailed out by a foul. Elijah Ross hit one free throw to give UCCS the victory, their ninth straight.

BHSU shot 40.0 percent from the field (26-for-65), while UCCS was 44.8 percent from the floor (26-for-58). The Yellow Jackets were 14-for-36 (38.9 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Mountain Lions were 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) on three-pointers. BHSU was 6-for-9 (66.7 percent) from the charity stripe, and UCCS was 11-for-18 (61.1 percent) from the free throw line. The Green and Gold were outrebounded, 42-35.

Clark led the Mountain Lions with 14 points, while Padiet Wang had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Malone added 10 points.

The Green and Gold will next play at Colorado School of Mines on January 19. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.

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Black Hills State is located in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota, sponsoring 13 NCAA sports with membership in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the NCAA emerging sport of women's triathlon and NIRA rodeo. For all information regarding Yellow Jacket Athletics, please visit BHSUAthletics.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @BHSUAthletics.

---BHSUAthletics.com---